Getting Started

Log-in
If you’ve never used the Survey Instrument, you’ll need to create a Qualtrics account. Go to the Survey Instrument home page and create an account by providing your name and e-mail address.

To use the Survey Instrument, log in with your ePanther ID and password.

Technical Resources
Qualtrics Survey University has numerous resources including online tutorials, research articles and information about survey design. They also have over 300 sample surveys that can be used “out of the box” or questions can be copied and pasted into a custom survey created by you. Visit the Technical Resources page for more information.

UITS has a free short course to provide information about the features of the Qualtrics survey software. Visit the Short Course Web site for the course schedule and to register online.

UWM Compliance
Some surveys may be considered human subject research and require Institutional Review Board approval prior to the initiation of the survey. In general, if your survey data is only being collected for a class project, quality improvement project, departmental evaluation, or social use, IRB approval may not be needed. However, if this survey is for a research project (1) involving a systematic investigation with (2) the goal of creating generalizable knowledge (i.e. being able to apply the data to a broader population and plan to publish or present the findings), IRB approval may be required. Please contact the UWM IRB (www.irb.uwm.edu) for specific information.

Use of the survey instrument service is subject to the same policies and guidelines for the use of UWM computing resources as other services on campus. Please refer to the UWM Computing Policy and Guidelines for more information.

Simple Basic Steps Developing a survey that will yield relevant results involves a number of important steps:

Understand and clearly articulate your objective.

Assess the type of information you will need to collect and its relevant importance.

Determine the type of question that is needed to optimally obtain information required.

Write, review and test your questions.

Do a “dry run” of the survey to determine how long it takes to complete and collect feedback.

Revise your survey if necessary.

Execute the survey.

Collect the data.

Analyze your results.

For more information about developing a survey that will meet your needs, including how to construct the survey, write questions, collect the data and analyze the results, review the Qualtrics University research articles.